monsbrick

Hi, I have a second profile that I have tried over the past 10 years tried to merge into this one but I have not been successful. I didn’t have access to the email address and it is associated with my maiden name which is Marie Marguerite Agcaoili. I am not hiding it. For years I didn’t swap but I am a total swap addict and I love swapping!! But I get it if you drop me from your swap since I’m illegal.

My artist creations include: Drawing; Collage; Coloring Stamping Painting: watercolor, acrylic, colored pencils, alcohol inks, distressed Upcycled repurposed art Vintage items Art journals Junk journals Planners Spirograph Pen & ink Knitting Gel press Sparkle & glitter Deconstructed art Theory of art Indigenous art Tribal art Religious art Film & photography Composting just kidding Mise en scene Playa art meaning it’s very dusty Mandalas

Thank you for all the die cut creations since it’s one craft I don't do.

My husband bought a vintage typewriter for my birthday I must start using soon! And Christine my stepsister gifted me with her cricut she no longer used! I have not figured it out yet but I hope to use it too!

Here are a few more details to help out folks who are trading letters and correspondence with me.

Plurality is probably a good word for me. There are really no types of music I don't like. The music I find myself gravitating towards the most are soft rock hits from the 1970s but I also listen to pop from all the decades, Blues, Jazz, Classical, Dubstep, Chill, Deep House and more.

As a child, my Dad was a National Dancer from the Philippines. I grew up banging on the ground and listening to the ethnic dancers pounding the floor with their feet, with bamboo sticks, and drums that are sort of flat and lay on the ground.

My grandmother was my piano teacher and then I had a scholarship at a local music conservatory. I quit music because I decided I didn't want to dedicate 8 hours a day practicing piano. That was probably the biggest career decision I made in my life. I think I made it around 16 years old. But my Mom's sister was some super prodigy and she played in Carnegie Hall when she was a kid and took lessons from Horowitz. I figured, I'd never be that good. And she didn't seem very happy with her music though I will say she did become happy very late in her life, after her mid-60s. She did start playing in many four-hand recitals and performed with a group of friends. But it was more like good fun and fundraising and that point. Not as much about the financial success nor the career achievement.

Reading right now: the Histories by Herodotus. This summer I also read Marco Polo’s Travels.

Here are a few of my favorite authors: Hugh Howey Paolo Bacigalupi William Gibson Neal Stephenson Jon Steele Chuck Hogan Guillermo del Toro Francesca Lia Block Paul Theroux Oliver Sacks Anne Rice Jeffrey Toobin Angela Duckworth Neil Gaiman Anáis Nin Henry Miller Jack Kerouac Marguerite Duras John Muir Stephen Dubner Steve Levitt Gabriel Garcia Marquez Lon Milo Duquette Danielle Steel George R.R. Martin Haruki Murakami Erin Morgenstern Robert B. Parker Edgar Allen Poe JD Salinger

I'm a big fan of Little Free Libraries and we have over 66 i my town that I've listed that I patronize or visit just here in my town! There are even more when you count Berkeley or San Francisco which are about 20-30 minutes away so not far for me. It's like treasure hunting! They are each like treasure chests and I love to add my extra books to the flow of books, maps, magazines, even stationery or videos.

The books I can't get enough of recently seem to be apocalyptic fiction. Not books about the apocalypse, but I think it's after Peak Oil or something along those lines. Anyway, I don't read them because they are in this genre, I just happen to love these-- but then you know how I can be morbid if you've followed my profile this far!

Hugh Howey--everything he writes I basically sit down and cannot sleep until the book is over. I started with The Shell Collector. I ordered his book by accident when I was trying to order Doerr's book by the same title. But then I never went back to read Doerr and I love Howey. I've also got to read the stuff he published online, I"m not a big Kindle reader though I have book readers on my phone and computers. He also did the Wool, Dust, and I read SAND first which is an offshoot and I liked it the best, but it was meant to be read after but I started there. I think I liked Sand the best.

Also Paolo Bacigalupi and I avoided his books like the Windup Girl. Then finally I succumbed at one of our real brick and mortar libraries. It just jumped out at me and I took it home. And found it irresistible. I feel kind of sad when I read his works and yet I cannot stop reading them. I have devoured all his stuff now and I have to wait for him to catch up to my voraciousness.

Similarly, I'm waiting for the next William Gibson book to come out. I've read his books over & over. I tend to love his books on audio. They just sound beautiful read out loud.

I do love poetry. Go to a poetry reading. If you come to San Francisco go to a poetry reading here at City Lights bookstore. It is a mecca. Write your own poetry. It's good for you.

Here at Swap-Bot I've joint the TBR (To Be Read Group). Being a part of the group and participating in the monthly group swaps helps me to stay focused on my reading list. I pick up books everywhere and I was chaotic and random before. Now, I'm more methodical and the group doesn't require that we read a certain amount but I do set my own reading goals. We share how we are doing each month against our goal or goals.

We watch P. Allen Smith’s Garden Home show, Mr, Robot, Barefoot Contessa, Queen of the South, Counterpart, Rook, Fixer Upper, various animal, space, and science shows, and the news.

News, I watch oodles of news I like to sweep across all the channels including international and business and weather news.

Podcasts are another favorite for me. I listen to Freakonomics from public radio in NY. And Terry Gross' Fresh Air from Public Radio too.

Oh yeah, one of my all time favorite books is by JD Salinger, it's a short story called "Franny & Zooey" where Franny starts mouthing and chanting and praying ceaselessly. I get her. Even though I don't think I could explain or teach it to anyone else.

Ahtletics: I don't do any competitive sports. I've done 5Ks, 10Ks, Marathons, I thought at some point that I would become an Ultrarunner. It's not too late. The great thing is that you can be an Ultrarunner here locally (in the San Francisco, California, USA) area at a 5K (that's about 3 miles) on a local trail and you just keep adding a mile per week and before you know it you're doing ultra runs! But alas, I'm not running all that much any more. I'm that kind of a person, where I feel sort of lukewarm about an activity and then I get more and more obsessed and suddenly ... but alas, that's old me.

I used to put on raves: though they were the kind of raves that did not allow alcohol nor drugs. I realize most people associate raves with those two things but I still do events that are not that way. But more and more I am slowing down though we do go to dance events and enjoy electronic dance music.

Mostly now, I Swim and Walk my dog daily. With bits of yoga tossed in.

Send me any tea! I drink tea every afternoon and evening. Black tea, white tea, tisanes, herb teas. My favorites are David's Teas which are loose and I prefer his berry flavored teas. I love mint teas. I make teas from the herbs in my garden.

Crystals & Rocks & Precious Metals: I used to think hippies were crazy for being into these things. I didn't get it. I still do not really understand the metaphysical aspects but I just love crystals and rocks and metals. I haven't tried making them into elixirs though I suppose that is next. I cannot believe how much money stores charge for these crystal infused waters. Rock crystal or clear crystal, rose quartz, are a few for the bath sprinkled with rose buds fresh or dried and rose hips. Yummmm

Artist Trading Cards or ATC and other arts and crafts creations. I used to be a big critic and so feel free to criticize my work. I am older now and I am not as critical. I am enjoying that second childhood and realizing that my art is mine. It is not created for art critics and though I do take into account other people’s preferences my art was not created by you or else it would be your art. I can spend hours creating something that looks random or messy. But honestly I’m just enjoying the Zen creation process. It all disappears which is the beauty of it. The creating IS the art. Mailing is also THE art. But LO, there I go preaching. Let it all be. Thank you for reading all these words!